Courtenay, British Columbia

Early history Archaeological evidence suggests there was an active Coast Salish fishing settlement on the shores of the Courtenay River Estuary for at least 4,000 years. Due to its gentle climate, fertile soil and abundant sea life, the Coast Salish residents called the area ''kw'umuxws'' (Li'kwala for plentiful), which was eventually anglicized to Komoux and then to Comox. At the time of first contact with Europeans, the Pentlatch Nation, who spoke the Pentlatch language of the Coast Salish family, occupied the shores of present-day Comox Bay. Several of these wooden stakes were carbon dated, revealing the oldest to be made from a hemlock tree c.750 CE, while the youngest dated from around 1830. The Pentlatch also harvested the abundant shellfish in Comox Bay. By the 19th century, the K'ómoks had been driven out of their lands near Campbell River by the Lekwiltok, a particularly fierce group of Kwakwaka'wakw. killing an estimated 30% of First Nations people. A census of First Nations in the Comox Valley taken in 1876 revealed that the local First Nations population had dwindled to only 88 K'ómoks and 21 Pentlatch. European settlers began to arrive in the area in 1872, and by 1876, the K'ómoks and Pentledge had been moved onto two reservations: Comox Indian Reserve No. 1 adjacent to the village of Comox, and Pentledge Indian Reserve No. 2 at the confluence of the Puntledge and Tsolum rivers adjacent to the village of Courtenay. In 1791, a Spanish expedition led by Dionisio Alcalá Galiano and Cayetano Valdés y Flores produced a crude chart of the Strait of Georgia and possibly visited Comox Bay. Captain George Vancouver arrived the following year, tasked by the British government with charting the northwest coast of North America. Vancouver, in concert with the Spanish expedition, entered the Courtenay River estuary between the present-day locations of Courtenay and Comox and charted the shoreline of the estuary. Early settlers By the middle of the 19th century, European and American settlements had sprung up in the Vancouver area and on southern Vancouver Island. In 1837, the Hudson Bay Company steamship Beaver began to search the south and east coasts of Vancouver Island for suitable locations for new trading posts, and subsequently set up a post overlooking the Courtenay River estuary, calling it "Komoux". , commanded by Captain Courtenay, was a frequent visitor to the area. In 1848, the river flowing through the Koumax valley was informally named the Courtenay River by the sailors of HMS Constance after their captain. In 1857, Captain George Richards of was tasked with undertaking a complete survey of the coastline of Vancouver Island, and was given authority to name local landmarks. When he arrived in the area, he confirmed the name of the river as the Courtenay. The majority of the settlers staked out farm lots on the flat and fertile "prairies" on the east side of the river, and a small village sprung up on the east bank of the river to supply their needs. The Courtenay Hotel, also known as Courtenay House, became the focal point of a village that included a general store, a small bank, a barber, and livery barns. However, it was not an ideal location, since the river regularly burst its banks due to king tides or spring run-off, flooding the entire village. McPhee and Pidcock recognized the economic potential of a townsite on the western bank of the river, which would be closer to the mines. They hired a surveyor, George Drabble, to survey and subdivide their land into town lots, which they quickly sold to businessmen and homeowners. The townsite on the much drier west side of the river, called for a time "New Courtenay", quickly developed. Many of the stores and businesses centred on what was originally called Union Street (now 5th Street), which ascended from McPhee's bridge. Concrete sidewalks and a sewer system were installed in 1962. In 1975, the construction of Driftwood Mall and the opening of a second river crossing, the 17th Street lift bridge, refocused the business district from 5th Street to Cliffe Avenue. ==Geography==